The price of fame

When I was young, most of my peers wanted to go on to do very ordinary jobs. Some wanted to be teachers, some considered working in computing, and many others would have no idea until they were in college or university. However, all of us wanted to do something that was grounded and I honestly don’t remember anyone saying they wanted to be famous. Having said that, Gerard Butler who was in the year above me, has since carved out a nice career as a Hollywood actor.

It seems that things have changed a lot in 25 years though, as I hear more and more people saying that they want to be “famous”. It’s true that many people have achieved fame through their jobs, or for a service they have performed, but that’s not the kind of fame we’re talking about here. This fame is the one which comes from having no talent, skill or desire to improve humanity, it’s the kind of fame that comes from being part of a meticulously designed and completely disposable form of entertainment. Everybody wants to be one of life’s first class passengers, instead of being the person who keeps the engines running and the parts clean. The rise of the reality TV show has allowed ordinary people access to the kind of fame reserved for actors or musicians, without actually having any talent whatsoever. The worst offender is Big Brother, whose simple premises is to confine a group of disparate nobodies in a house for several months and film them. If it’s all a bit quiet, add alcohol or a particularly annoying ‘house mate’ to stir things up and make it interesting for the viewers. Somehow, people from this vile programme have become famous simply by being loud, obnoxious and fake!

So here we have Josie Cunningham, a woman who has already caused controversy by having NHS treatment to provide breast implants. Now although that seems morally repugnant and a waste of money, there might well have been a medical condition behind it and/or a psychological issue which needed to be addressed. Whatever the reason, if someone in the same area was refused medical treatment for a serious illness because of costs, then nobody should be getting cosmetic surgery at teh same hospital! Josie attempted to become a glamour model after her surgery but she failed, so rather than get an ordinary job like us mere mortals, she is going to shoot for fame by appearing on Big Brother. However, the cost of this attempt at fame won’t be counted in NHS funds, the cost will be the abortion of her unborn child. Apparently being pregnant is going to be an insurmountable obstacle for Josie’s quest for fame, so she is prepared to kill the foetus to realise her dream.

When Andy Warhol said everyone would have their “fifteen minutes” of fame, I wonder if he could have seen the depths to which some people would go for that fleeting moment? Will Josie realise that a life is more important than a career, or in years to come if she has other children, will she have to confess to them that she aborted their sibling to be famous? I think there are other considerations here behind her motives, because despite becoming a pariah on social media she doesn’t seem to realise that her attempts are doomed to failure. She is so despised by most people that even if she does appear on BB, she will be vilified further by a public who will never allow her to be anything other than cast out and forgotten. She appears to be deluded, if not a little detached from reality. It’s also very apparent that she has self-esteem issues regarding her physical appearance, as well as a need to be liked, if not loved. She sees the adulation of fans for celebrities as a replacement for real feelings like love or respect, failing to notice that only a small amount of celebrities carry that kind of adulation with them forever.

Whatever the outcome, I don’t see a happy ending for this woman. If she has the child, she’ll forever resent it and at some point, will also have to admit that he/she was the result of her time as an escort. Her family dynamic will more than likely pay for a psycho-therapist’s car, holidays and new home! If she doesn’t have the child and gets on BB she will be famous for sure, but famous for all the wrong reasons util she is hounded back out of the limelight. I can’t imagine her getting an ‘ordinary’ job, or that employers would really want her in the first place, so it wouldn’t surprise me if she went back to escorting until what little appeal she has finally disappears and she has nothing.